Paul Nguyen

Draft. Last updated 2026-10-17. This contest is still being reviewed.

Presiding Justice and Associate Justice, Court of Appeal, Fourth Appellate District, Division Three

Judicial 6 seats 2026-11-03

All Fullerton voters. Every voter in Orange County sees the Fourth Appellate District, Division Three retention questions because Division Three hears appeals from Orange County, and the Orange County Registrar of Voters lists the judicial contest on the county ballot as Associate Justice, Court of Appeal, 4th Appellate District, Division 1-3. These are six separate yes or no questions, one for each justice named, not a contest between candidates. A voter marks yes or no on each question separately. The certified list of candidates prints the Division Three names in the order Motoike, Scott, Macaulay, Gooding, Delaney and Servino, and this file uses that order; the Secretary of State's list of judicial candidates with headings and ballot questions prints the same six questions in the order Motoike, Delaney, Scott, Servino, Gooding and Macaulay. No street address was used for this file.

What this office does

A California Court of Appeal justice sits on the intermediate appellate court. The Judicial Branch's page on what appellate justices do says most legal disputes involving state law are decided first by trial courts or certain administrative agencies, that a party who believes a trial court or agency made an error of law that harmed them may seek appellate review, and that the Court of Appeal decides those cases, with a further request for review possible at the California Supreme Court.

It says the decision of the Court of Appeal is final in the vast majority of cases because the Supreme Court grants review of only a few of them. Appellate courts do not take new evidence or reassess witness credibility: they review the written record to decide whether the trial court properly interpreted the law and used the correct procedures.

Each appeal is considered by a panel of three justices, a majority must agree, and a reversal almost always returns the case to the trial court to be reheard under the correct law. The same page says all justices are bound to apply the law whether or not they personally agree with it, that they may not substitute their own ideas for what the law should be, and that the Code of Judicial Ethics requires them to be faithful to the law regardless of partisan interests, public clamor or fear of criticism.

It says the retention election system was adopted by California voters as part of the state Constitution to foster judicial independence. The Judicial Branch's selection page adds that the office is nonpartisan, that a justice must have practiced law for at least 10 years, that the Governor sends a nominee's name to the State Bar's Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation for a background review that rates the candidate, that the nominee then goes to a public hearing of the Commission on Judicial Appointments, made up of the Chief Justice, the Attorney General and a senior presiding justice, which confirms or rejects the nomination, and that state appellate justices are subject to review of their professional and personal conduct by the California Commission on Judicial Performance.

LAist's guide says appellate justices serve on three justice panels and vote on whether lower court decisions should be upheld, reversed or changed, that they also hear certain new cases such as requests to intervene in how a lower court operates, that they review decisions of the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board and other state boards, that they do not retry cases and do not review civil appeals involving under $35,000, traffic infractions, criminal misdemeanors or death penalty appeals, that a presiding justice also handles the administrative side of the court, sets policies and supervises the division, and that the term is 12 years with no term limits.

Ballotpedia records the salary for a California intermediate appellate court judge at $280,052 and the California judicial branch budget at $5,254,030,000 for the 2025-2026 fiscal year. A Court of Appeal justice does not write or vote on the state budget, does not set tax rates, does not run county departments and does not run school districts.

What the office decides is appeals from trial court and administrative decisions, and the retention question asks only whether the justice should continue in that office.S8S9S10S34S35

Contest context

  • The Secretary of State's certified list of candidates for the November 3, 2026 general election and the Secretary of State's separate list of judicial candidates with headings and ballot questions both put six Court of Appeal questions for the Fourth Appellate District, Division Three, on the ballot in the counties the certified list names for that district: Imperial, Inyo, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and San Diego. Division Three is on the Orange County ballot. The Registrar of Voters lists Associate Justice, Court of Appeal, 4th Appellate District, Division 1-3 among the contests qualified for the ballot and prints the same judicial entries in its What's On the Ballot document, so every Fullerton voter sees these questions. They are retention questions rather than races between candidates: the ballot asks, separately for each justice, whether that justice should be elected to the office for the term provided by law, and the certified list prints no party preference for any of them. The Judicial Branch's retention page says no one may run against a justice, that voters simply decide whether the justice shall continue to serve, and that a justice who receives a majority of yes votes remains for another term. Ballot Explained states that a majority of no votes creates a vacancy that the Governor fills. LAist's guide notes that California voters vote on justices by district and not by division, so a voter can be asked about a justice who would not sit on a case involving that voter. This file keeps the six questions in one contest record because they appear on the ballot as one office group for the division, and it gives each justice the same sections and the same depth.S1S2S4S5S10S35S42
  • Both official lists name the same six justices but print them in different orders. The certified list of candidates prints them as Presiding Justice Joanne Motoike, Associate Justice Nathan R. Scott, Associate Justice Juliet O. Macaulay, Associate Justice Martha K. Gooding, Associate Justice Thomas A. Delaney and Associate Justice Deborah C. Servino. The list of judicial candidates with headings and ballot questions, dated August 24, 2026, prints the same six questions in this order: Motoike, Delaney, Scott, Servino, Gooding, Macaulay. This file uses the certified list order, which is the order used in the contest index, and records the difference rather than resolving it. LAist's guide also prints the six Division Three names in the certified list order. Ballotpedia's page for the 2026 intermediate appellate elections lists Servino, Motoike, Macaulay, Gooding, Scott and Delaney for Division Three without stating an order for that division.S1S2S27S35
  • Ballotpedia records that all six current terms end on January 4, 2027, and that the terms of 62 California intermediate appellate court justices expire that day and are up for retention on November 3, 2026. The California Courts newsroom says judicial retention elections occur every four years, coinciding with gubernatorial elections, that appellate justices serve 12-year terms beginning in early January after their election, and that a newly appointed justice must first appear on the ballot at the next such election provided there is enough time to file. The Judicial Branch's selection page says a justice confirmed by the Commission on Judicial Appointments must then be confirmed by voters at the next general election, that the justice continues in office on receiving a majority of the votes cast, and that although the Constitution provides for a 12-year term, a justice who takes a seat where part of the term had already run serves the uncompleted part, either four or eight years, and must be confirmed again at a general election to begin a new term. LACBA's retention post says the November 2026 appellate retention election covers two California Supreme Court justices and 62 Court of Appeal justices statewide. There was no primary for these questions. The Registrar of Voters treats the judicial entries as nonpartisan general election contests, and Ballotpedia's page for the 2026 intermediate appellate elections covers the questions at the November 3 election only.S10S11S27S28S29S30S31S32S33S36S4
  • Four of the six seats changed hands within the last four years, and one Division Three seat changed after the two official candidate documents were issued. Justice Joanne Motoike's appointment as presiding justice filled the vacancy created by the retirement of Presiding Justice Kathleen E. O'Leary, and Juliet O. Macaulay's appointment filled the vacancy created by Motoike's elevation, according to the California Courts newsroom. The Judicial Branch's Fourth District news page records that Associate Justice Maurice Sanchez retired on October 2, 2026, after 45 years in the law, and that Judge Maria Daghlian Hernandez was confirmed on October 9, 2026, to succeed him in Division Three. The certified list of candidates is dated August 27, 2026, and the list of judicial candidates with headings and ballot questions is dated August 24, 2026; neither includes Hernandez, and the news release announcing her confirmation does not say it is subject to voter confirmation on November 3, while the August 20, 2026 release about Macaulay, Lisa Rodriguez and Rashida Adams does say their confirmations are subject to voter confirmation at that election. This file records those dates and documents and does not state a reason for the difference.S1S2S18S19S23S24S25
  • Published assessment material on these questions is thin, and the sources that exist describe the same limit. Ballot Explained states that California has no official judicial performance evaluation commission and no statewide bar rating of retention candidates, that justices are barred from campaigning for themselves, and that there is very little published material on any of the retention questions. The Judicial Branch's retention page says supreme and appellate court justices generally do not actively campaign for retention and that the only promise they can make voters is to decide appeals impartially and according to the law, without fear or favor toward any individual or group, and it says the official statewide voter pamphlet does not contain biographical sketches for court of appeal justices but refers voters to a website and a telephone hotline for their biographies. The Secretary of State's voter guide page for the Fourth District lists the six Division Three justices with links to the Judicial Branch's biographical pages, and prints no biographical information for Juliet O. Macaulay even though the Judicial Branch publishes a profile for her. The San Francisco Chronicle editorial states that the exhaustive vetting largely takes place out of public view, that judges may only campaign within strict ethical rules, and that the state provides no clear guidelines on how to decide these votes. This file found no candidate statement for any of the six in the statewide voter guide or elsewhere, so the statement summary field is null for all six, and the Judicial Branch profile is used for each candidate's biography.S3S10S42S44
  • Organizations and publications have taken positions on these six questions. The Los Angeles County Bar Association posted on October 2, 2026 that it strongly endorses retaining the incumbent justices on the ballot, that it encourages voters to support retention, and that voters should support a particular justice unless they believe the justice has demonstrated unfitness to continue serving. Its list names Motoike, Delaney, Scott, Servino, Gooding and Macaulay among the Fourth District justices and prints Delaney's first name as Tomas. The Southern California Appellate News blog, written by an appellate lawyer, posted on September 25, 2026 urging voters to retain the justices on the ballot. Presiding Justice Tari L. Cody of the Second Appellate District, Division Six, published an opinion article in the Santa Barbara Independent on October 7, 2026 asking voters to retain all sitting appellate court justices on the ballot and stating that none of the appellate justices on the ballot have been disciplined by the Commission on Judicial Performance. Reform California's voter guide for Orange County gives each of the six a do-not-retain entry and prints no reasons for the individual judicial entries. The California Judicial Voter Guide gives each justice a star rating and a retention position: two stars and a no for Motoike, three stars and a yes for Scott, two stars and a no for Macaulay, three stars and a yes for Gooding, three stars and a yes for Delaney, and three stars and a yes for Servino; it states that the ratings come from a source guide and that the guide identifies candidates aligned with conservative, Republican, Christian and libertarian values. The San Francisco Chronicle's editorial board published recommendations on October 10, 2026 for the two Supreme Court justices and for the First and Sixth District justices and did not list the Fourth District. The Daily News editorial board published a recommendation on October 7, 2026 against retaining Second District Justices Armen Tamzarian and Audra Mori because of a 2025 ruling in the Los Angeles Measure ULA case, which is a different district from this one. No recommendation published about a single Division Three justice, beyond the guide entries above, and no campaign for or against any of the six was found in the sources reviewed.S36S37S38S39S40S41S43S44
  • Division Three sits in Santa Ana and hears appeals from one county. The Judicial Branch's history of the Fourth District says Division Three was formed in 1982, assumed jurisdiction of all cases from Orange County, is the only state appellate court whose jurisdiction is limited to a single county, and began considering cases in January 1983. Ballotpedia's court page says the Fourth District covers Inyo, San Bernardino, Riverside, Orange, San Diego and Imperial counties, that Division One is based in San Diego, Division Two in Riverside and Division Three in Santa Ana, and that each division has its own presiding justice. LAist's guide says the Fourth District covers Orange, Imperial, Inyo, Riverside, San Bernardino and San Diego counties. The Judicial Branch's roster lists six justices in Division Three whose names appear on this ballot plus Associate Justice Eileen C. Moore, who was appointed in 2000 and whose name is not among the 2026 Division Three questions, and it records the service start year for each justice. This file records the roster as published and does not state which justice will sit on any particular case.S6S7S26S35

Candidates

Listed in ballot order. Candidates are described with the same sections and level of detail; no ranking or endorsement is implied.

Joanne Motoike

Presiding Justice Incumbent

Bio

  • The Secretary of State's certified list prints the question for her seat as: Shall Presiding Justice JOANNE MOTOIKE be elected to the office for the term provided by law? It prints no party preference, and the Judicial Branch's selection page says the office of appellate justice is nonpartisan. Her current title is Presiding Justice of the Fourth Appellate District, Division Three, and the Secretary of State's voter guide page prints her as Joanne Motoike, Presiding Justice, with a link to the Judicial Branch's biographical page.S1S2S3S9
  • The Judicial Branch's profile says she was appointed to the Fourth District Court of Appeal, Division Three, by Governor Gavin Newsom on May 2, 2022, that she was rated exceptionally well qualified for the position by the Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation of the State Bar of California, and that she was confirmed by unanimous vote of the Commission on Judicial Appointments on June 16, 2022. It says she was appointed Presiding Justice of the same division by Governor Newsom on February 19, 2026, and that her appointment was confirmed by unanimous vote of the Commission on Judicial Appointments on May 22, 2026. The California Courts newsroom release of May 22, 2026 records her confirmation as presiding justice and says that seat was vacated by the retirement of Presiding Justice Kathleen E. O'Leary.S12S18
  • Before her appointment, the profile says she was assigned to the Orange County Juvenile Court and served as Presiding Judge of the Juvenile Court from 2018 to 2022, responsible for the administration of the county's juvenile justice and child welfare courts, services and programs, and that from 2013 to 2015 she was assigned to the Stephen K. Tamura West Justice Center presiding over adult criminal matters. It says that before her judicial appointment by Governor Brown in 2013 she worked as a senior deputy public defender at the Orange County Public Defender's Office, that she was a trial attorney with the United Nations Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia from 2006 to 2008, and that she was a deputy public defender in Orange County from 1994 to 2006. The newsroom release of May 22, 2026 gives her Orange County Superior Court service as 2013 to 2022, her senior deputy public defender service as 2008 to 2013 and her United Nations trial attorney service as 2006 to 2008, and Ballotpedia lists the same sequence of county public defender service on either side of the United Nations posting.S12S18S28
  • The profile records that she earned a Juris Doctor degree from Loyola Law School in Los Angeles and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Irvine, which Ballotpedia also records.S12S28
  • The profile lists awards and roles: the Judicial Excellence Award in 2021 and the Judicial Trailblazers Award in 2022 from the Orange County Asian American Bar Association, the Honorable Roger B. Robbins Judge of the Year Award in 2021 from the North Orange County Bar Association, an Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month Award of Distinction in 2021 from the Orange County Department of Education, and a place among Orange Coast Magazine's 25 Kick Ass Women in Orange County in 2023. It says she is co-chair of the education committee of the California Asian Pacific American Judges Association and a member of the Orange County Judicial Selection Advisory Committee for Governor Gavin Newsom. Those are the statements of the Judicial Branch's published profile.S12
  • Ballotpedia records that she assumed office on June 16, 2022, that her current term ends on January 4, 2027, and that she has not completed Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey. Ballotpedia identifies no endorsements for her in the 2026 retention election.S28
  • No campaign website was found for her. She is not listed in the state voter guide with a statement, and the Judicial Branch publishes her profile at the address recorded as this candidate's website field.S3S6S12

Record in office

  • She was retained by voters in the November 8, 2022 general election for the Division Three seat with 61.5 percent of the vote, 1,372,426 yes votes and 859,410 no votes out of 2,231,836 votes, and Ballotpedia records the result as certified. That was her first retention vote as an appellate justice, and the 2026 question is the second retention question for her.S28
  • She has served in Division Three since June 16, 2022 and as its presiding justice since her May 22, 2026 confirmation, according to the Judicial Branch's roster and profile and the California Courts newsroom. The roster lists her as presiding justice.S6S12S18
  • As Presiding Judge of the Orange County Juvenile Court from 2018 to 2022 she was responsible for the administration of the county's juvenile justice and child welfare courts, services and programs, and from 2013 to 2015 she presided over adult criminal matters at the Stephen K. Tamura West Justice Center, according to her profile.S12
  • The Commission on Judicial Performance's list of decisions on public judicial disciplinary cases by judge's name, retrieved for this run, contains no entry for her. LACBA's post states that the justices up for retention in this election all have a demonstrated record of fitness and competence and that none have had disciplinary issues with the Commission on Judicial Performance, and the opinion article by Presiding Justice Tari Cody states that none of the appellate justices on the ballot have been disciplined by the commission. The absence of an entry on the commission's list means no public discipline or public decision, not that no complaint was ever filed, which the San Francisco Chronicle editorial notes.S45S36S37S44

Positions

Other
  • No policy positions from this candidate were found. her own profile describes assignments and awards rather than positions: the profile records her appointments, judicial assignments, education, awards and bar activity, and the other sources reviewed record her retention result and the assessment material described in the contest context. The Judicial Branch's retention page states that supreme and appellate court justices generally do not actively campaign for retention and that the only promise they can make voters is to decide appeals impartially and according to the law, without fear or favor toward any individual or group, and LACBA's retention post makes the same point. Ballot Explained states that justices are barred from campaigning for themselves and that there is very little published material on any of these questions. Ballotpedia records that this candidate has not completed its 2026 Candidate Connection survey, and the guide pages retrieved for this run carry ratings, not stated positions. None of the sources reviewed states a position from this justice on taxes, housing, cost of living, insurance, utilities, schools, public safety or any other policy question, so this file records no policy position rather than inferring one.S10S36S42S27

Endorsements

  • The Los Angeles County Bar Association posted on October 2, 2026 that it strongly endorses retaining the incumbent justices on the ballot and names her among the Fourth District justices.S36
  • The Southern California Appellate News blog, written by an appellate lawyer, urges voters to retain the justices on the ballot, including the Fourth District justices, in a post dated September 25, 2026.S38
  • Presiding Justice Tari L. Cody of the Second Appellate District, Division Six, wrote in the Santa Barbara Independent on October 7, 2026 asking voters to retain all sitting appellate court justices on their ballot, which includes the Division Three questions.S37
  • Reform California's voter guide for Orange County lists her with a do-not-retain entry. The guide prints no reason for that entry in the section retrieved.S39
  • The California Judicial Voter Guide gives her two stars on its five-star scale and a no position on retention. The guide states that the ratings come from a source guide and that it identifies candidates aligned with conservative, Republican, Christian and libertarian values.S40S41
  • Ballotpedia states that it is gathering endorsements and voter guide recommendations for the 2026 retention election and identifies none for her. No endorsement specific to her was found beyond the guide entries recorded above.S28

Funding

No campaign finance filing found.

S10S27S36S1

No campaign committee, filing, donor list or dollar total for this contest was found for Joanne Motoike. The Judicial Branch's retention page says supreme and appellate court justices generally do not actively campaign for retention, and LACBA's retention post says the same. Ballotpedia's page for the 2026 intermediate appellate court retention elections and its candidate page for Joanne Motoike carry no 2026 campaign finance information for the seat, and the candidate page states that campaign finance information for the candidate is not yet available from OpenSecrets. No funded campaign on either side of these questions was found in any source reviewed. The Secretary of State's Cal-Access committee pages returned only their index page to the fetch tools used for this run and could not be searched by committee name, so this file cannot state whether any committee has been formed for any of these six questions. The total raised and cash on hand fields are null for that reason rather than estimated.

What this could mean for your household

  • Households with children in the Orange County child welfare or juvenile justice systems: her profile records that she was Presiding Judge of the Orange County Juvenile Court from 2018 to 2022 and was responsible for the administration of the county's juvenile justice and child welfare courts, services and programs. That is a record of prior assignment, not a stated position on child welfare policy or funding.S12
  • Households involved in appeals from Orange County courts: the Judicial Branch's page says Court of Appeal justices review the written record in appeals that include civil cases involving personal injury, contract, employment, real estate, probate, dissolution of marriage and child custody, and administrative matters such as workers' compensation, and that Division Three is the only state appellate court whose jurisdiction is limited to a single county, Orange County. Those are the kinds of cases the court decides, not stated positions on policy.S7S8
  • Households weighing what a retention vote does: the Judicial Branch's page says a justice who receives a majority of yes votes remains for another term, and Ballot Explained states that a majority of no votes creates a vacancy that the Governor fills. Neither source identifies a stated position from this justice on taxes, fees, housing, insurance or utility costs.S10S42

Campaign website

Nathan R. Scott

Associate Justice Incumbent

Bio

  • The Secretary of State's certified list prints the question for his seat as: Shall Associate Justice NATHAN R. SCOTT be elected to the office for the term provided by law? It prints no party preference, and the Judicial Branch's selection page says the office of appellate justice is nonpartisan. The Secretary of State's voter guide page lists him as Nathan R. Scott, Associate Justice, with a link to the Judicial Branch's biographical page.S1S2S3S9
  • The California Courts newsroom release of February 14, 2025 records that the Commission on Judicial Appointments confirmed Judge Nathan Scott as associate justice of the Fourth Appellate District, Division Three, by unanimous vote, and says he filled the vacancy created by the retirement of Justice William W. Bedsworth. His Judicial Branch profile says he was elevated by Governor Gavin Newsom and rated exceptionally well qualified by the Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation. Ballotpedia records that he was first appointed to the Court of Appeal on November 21, 2024 and sworn in on February 14, 2025, succeeding William Bedsworth.S22S13S29
  • His profile says he brings 12 years of trial court experience, including 9 years on the civil panel and 3 years on the family law panel of the Orange County Superior Court, that for 4 years he was also assigned to hear election cases, and that for 3 years he was also Presiding Judge of the Appellate Division. The California Courts newsroom release and Ballotpedia both record that he served as an Orange County Superior Court judge from 2012 and that he was a senior appellate court attorney and appellate court attorney at the Fourth District Court of Appeal from 2005 to 2012. His profile says that before his appointment to the Superior Court by Governor Jerry Brown he was a Court of Appeal research attorney, that he began his career at Kirkland and Ellis LLP and Cox Castle Nicholson LLP, which the newsroom release and Ballotpedia record as 1999 to 2003 and 2003 to 2004 respectively, and that he attended Long Beach public schools and graduated from Long Beach City College, the University of California, Los Angeles summa cum laude, and Harvard Law School.S13S22S29
  • His profile says that as a civil trial judge he was named Judge of the Year by the American Board of Trial Advocates Orange County chapter, the Orange County Trial Lawyers Association and the Orange County Hispanic Bar Association, that he belongs to the California Latino Judges Association, the Orange County Association of Affinity Judicial Officers and the Hispanic Bar Association, that he serves on the Association of Business Trial Lawyers Orange County judicial advisory council and board of governors, that he co-chairs the Orange County Bar Association's Civility Task Force and supports the Unity Bar of Orange County, and that he has worked with Governor Newsom's judicial mentoring program, the Commission on Judicial Performance and a list of community and bar programs. It says he and his wife, a librarian, have three children. Those are the statements of the Judicial Branch's published profile, which is written in the first person in places.S13
  • Ballotpedia records that he assumed office on February 14, 2025, that his current term ends on January 4, 2027, that he received a bachelor's degree from the University of California, Los Angeles and a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School, and that he has not completed Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey. Ballotpedia identifies no endorsements for him in the 2026 retention election.S29
  • No campaign website was found for him. The Secretary of State's voter guide lists him with the Judicial Branch's biographical page as the further information link.S3S6

Record in office

  • This is the first retention question for his seat recorded in the sources reviewed. Ballotpedia's page for him records his appointment and swearing-in dates for this seat and shows the 2026 retention election as the only election entry at the Court of Appeal; his prior elections on that page are the Orange County Superior Court nonpartisan primaries, which were canceled and which he won without appearing on the ballot.S29
  • He has served in Division Three since February 14, 2025, according to the Judicial Branch's roster and profile. The California Courts newsroom release says he filled the vacancy created by the retirement of Justice William W. Bedsworth.S6S13S22
  • Before joining the Court of Appeal he sat on the Orange County Superior Court civil panel for 9 years, the family law panel for 3 years and was assigned to hear election cases for 4 years, and he served 3 years as Presiding Judge of the Appellate Division of that court, according to his profile. His profile records that he was named Judge of the Year by three county legal organizations for his work as a civil trial judge.S13
  • The Commission on Judicial Performance's list of decisions on public judicial disciplinary cases by judge's name, retrieved for this run, contains no entry for him. LACBA's retention post states that the justices up for retention in this election all have a demonstrated record of fitness and competence and that none have had disciplinary issues with the commission, and the opinion article by Presiding Justice Tari Cody states that none of the appellate justices on the ballot have been disciplined by the commission. The San Francisco Chronicle editorial notes that the absence of a disciplinary record does not mean no complaint was ever filed, only that no public charge or punishment resulted.S45S36S37S44

Positions

Other
  • No policy positions from this candidate were found. his own profile describes assignments and community work rather than positions: the profile records his judicial assignments, awards, bar activity and education, and the other sources reviewed record his appointment, confirmation and the assessment material described in the contest context. The Judicial Branch's retention page states that supreme and appellate court justices generally do not actively campaign for retention and that the only promise they can make voters is to decide appeals impartially and according to the law, without fear or favor toward any individual or group, and LACBA's retention post makes the same point. Ballot Explained states that justices are barred from campaigning for themselves and that there is very little published material on any of these questions. Ballotpedia records that this candidate has not completed its 2026 Candidate Connection survey, and the guide pages retrieved for this run carry ratings, not stated positions. None of the sources reviewed states a position from this justice on taxes, housing, cost of living, insurance, utilities, schools, public safety or any other policy question, so this file records no policy position rather than inferring one.S10S36S42S27

Endorsements

  • The Los Angeles County Bar Association posted on October 2, 2026 that it strongly endorses retaining the incumbent justices on the ballot and names him among the Fourth District justices.S36
  • The Southern California Appellate News blog urges voters to retain the justices on the ballot, including the Fourth District justices, in a post dated September 25, 2026.S38
  • Presiding Justice Tari L. Cody's opinion article of October 7, 2026 in the Santa Barbara Independent asks voters to retain all sitting appellate court justices on their ballot, which includes the Division Three questions.S37
  • Reform California's voter guide for Orange County lists him with a do-not-retain entry. The guide prints no reason for that entry in the section retrieved.S39
  • The California Judicial Voter Guide gives him three stars on its five-star scale and a yes position on retention. The guide states that the ratings come from a source guide and that it identifies candidates aligned with conservative, Republican, Christian and libertarian values.S40S41
  • Ballotpedia states that it is gathering endorsements and voter guide recommendations for the 2026 retention election and identifies none for him. No endorsement specific to him was found beyond the guide entries recorded above.S29

Funding

No campaign finance filing found.

S10S27S36S1

No campaign committee, filing, donor list or dollar total for this contest was found for Nathan R. Scott. The Judicial Branch's retention page says supreme and appellate court justices generally do not actively campaign for retention, and LACBA's retention post says the same. Ballotpedia's page for the 2026 intermediate appellate court retention elections and its candidate page for Nathan R. Scott carry no 2026 campaign finance information for the seat, and the candidate page states that campaign finance information for the candidate is not yet available from OpenSecrets. No funded campaign on either side of these questions was found in any source reviewed. The Secretary of State's Cal-Access committee pages returned only their index page to the fetch tools used for this run and could not be searched by committee name, so this file cannot state whether any committee has been formed for any of these six questions. The total raised and cash on hand fields are null for that reason rather than estimated.

What this could mean for your household

  • Households appearing in Orange County family law and civil cases that reach appeal: his profile records 3 years on the family law panel of the Orange County Superior Court and 9 years on its civil panel, and the Judicial Branch's page says civil appeals include cases involving personal injury, contract, employment, real estate, probate, dissolution of marriage and child custody. Those are records of assignment, not stated positions on policy.S13S8
  • Households with an interest in how election disputes are handled: his profile records that for 4 years he was assigned to hear election cases on the Orange County Superior Court and that he served 3 years as Presiding Judge of that court's Appellate Division. It states no position on election law or on the county's election administration.S13
  • Households weighing what a retention vote does: the Judicial Branch's page says a justice who receives a majority of yes votes remains for another term, and Ballot Explained states that a majority of no votes creates a vacancy that the Governor fills. Neither source identifies a stated position from this justice on taxes, fees, housing, insurance or utility costs.S10S42

Campaign website

Juliet O. Macaulay

Associate Justice Incumbent

Bio

  • The Secretary of State's certified list prints the question for her seat as: Shall Associate Justice JULIET O. MACAULAY be elected to the office for the term provided by law? It prints no party preference, and the Judicial Branch's selection page says the office of appellate justice is nonpartisan. The Secretary of State's voter guide page prints her as Juliet O. Macaulay, Associate Justice, with the note no biographical information available, even though the Judicial Branch publishes a profile for her.S1S2S3S9
  • Her Judicial Branch profile says she was nominated to the Fourth Appellate District, Division Three, by Governor Gavin Newsom and confirmed by unanimous vote of the Commission on Judicial Appointments on August 20, 2026. The California Courts newsroom release of the same date lists Judge Juliet Macaulay as associate justice of the Fourth Appellate District, Division Three, says she filled the vacancy created by the elevation of Justice Joanne Motoike to presiding justice, and states that her confirmation is subject to voter confirmation during the general election scheduled for November 3, with her term beginning on January 4, 2027, if voter confirmation is successful. The Fourth District's own news page records the same August 20, 2026 confirmation. Ballotpedia records that she assumed office on August 20, 2026.S17S19S24S30
  • Her profile says she brings 22 years of judicial and quasi-judicial experience, that she first oversaw a criminal calendar at the West Justice Center from 2022 to January 2024 conducting jury trials, criminal law and motion and arraignments, and that from January 2024 until her elevation she oversaw a family law calendar at the Lamoreaux Justice Center and the Central Justice Center handling dissolutions, legal separation, child custody and visitation, domestic violence, paternity and property issues. It says that before her judicial appointment in 2022 she served as Deputy Director and Chief Administrative Law Judge at the California Department of Social Services from February 2020 to July 2022, where she led the Administrative Law Judges and staff of the State Hearing Division in setting statewide hearing policies and adjudicating cases for applicants and recipients of public social service programs, that she served at that department as a Presiding Judge from 2016 to 2020 and an Administrative Law Judge from 2012 to 2016, that she was a Deputy Commissioner at the Board of Parole Hearings from 2004 to 2011 and was appointed by Governor Brown as a Commissioner of that board, chairing life parole consideration hearings, and that she practiced as a sole practitioner from 1997 to 2004. The California Courts newsroom release records the same state service, with her Board of Parole Hearings service as a commissioner in 2011 and a deputy commissioner from 2004 to 2011. Ballotpedia adds attorney roles at Tokunbo Olugbenga and Co, Legal Practitioners, from 1992 to 1995 and outside counsel at International Leasing and Investments Company from 1992 to 1994.S17S19S30
  • Her profile says she served on the Executive Board of the California Judges Association, serves on the board of the Orange County Association of Affinity Judicial Officers, and was a member of Superior Court committees including the Equal Access to Justice and Elimination of Bias Committee, the Judicial Mentor Committee, the Finance Committee and the Grand Jury Recruitment and Selection Committee. It says she mentors attorneys and law students, supports educational scholarship programs, serves as an advisory board member for a local Legal Magnate program and works to build a pipeline for students from underserved communities, and it records the Thurgood Marshall Bar Association's Judicial Legal Excellence Award, the California Association of Black Lawyers' Legendary Leader in Justice Award and Department of Social Services Service Excellence Awards. It says she and her husband have two daughters who are both pursuing legal careers. Those are the statements of the Judicial Branch's published profile.S17
  • Ballotpedia records that she assumed office on August 20, 2026, that her current term ends on January 4, 2027, that she earned her Juris Doctor at the University of Ibadan, College of Law, that she served as an Orange County Superior Court judge from 2022 to 2026, and that she has not completed Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey. It records that her 2024 Superior Court election was a nonpartisan primary that was canceled and that she won without appearing on the ballot, and that Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements or voter guide recommendations for her in that election.S30
  • No campaign website was found for her. The Secretary of State's voter guide prints no biography for her and links to the Judicial Branch's biographical page, which is recorded as this candidate's website field.S3S6S17

Record in office

  • This is the first retention question for her seat. The California Courts newsroom release of August 20, 2026 states that her confirmation is subject to voter confirmation at the November 3, 2026 general election and that her term begins January 4, 2027 if voter confirmation is successful. Ballotpedia records no earlier retention question on this seat and records that her 2024 election was an Orange County Superior Court primary that was canceled.S19S30
  • She has served in Division Three since August 20, 2026, according to the Judicial Branch's roster and profile and the Fourth District news page. The roster lists her as the most recent associate justice appointed to the division.S6S17S24
  • Before her elevation she sat on the Orange County Superior Court from 2022, first on a criminal calendar at the West Justice Center and then on a family law calendar handling dissolutions, legal separation, child custody and visitation, domestic violence, paternity and property issues, according to her profile. Before that she led the State Hearing Division of the California Department of Social Services as Deputy Director and Chief Administrative Law Judge from 2020 to 2022, where the profile says she set statewide hearing policies and adjudicated cases for applicants and recipients of public social service programs, and she served at the Board of Parole Hearings as a deputy commissioner and commissioner, chairing life parole consideration hearings.S17S19
  • The Commission on Judicial Performance's list of decisions on public judicial disciplinary cases by judge's name, retrieved for this run, contains no entry for her. LACBA's retention post states that the justices up for retention in this election all have a demonstrated record of fitness and competence and that none have had disciplinary issues with the commission, and the opinion article by Presiding Justice Tari Cody states that none of the appellate justices on the ballot have been disciplined by the commission. The San Francisco Chronicle editorial notes that the absence of a disciplinary record does not mean no complaint was ever filed, only that no public charge or punishment resulted.S45S36S37S44

Positions

Other
  • No policy positions from this candidate were found. her own profile describes her assignments and community work rather than positions: the profile records her judicial and state administrative assignments, community service and awards, and the other sources reviewed record her confirmation and the assessment material described in the contest context. The Judicial Branch's retention page states that supreme and appellate court justices generally do not actively campaign for retention and that the only promise they can make voters is to decide appeals impartially and according to the law, without fear or favor toward any individual or group, and LACBA's retention post makes the same point. Ballot Explained states that justices are barred from campaigning for themselves and that there is very little published material on any of these questions. Ballotpedia records that this candidate has not completed its 2026 Candidate Connection survey, and the guide pages retrieved for this run carry ratings, not stated positions. None of the sources reviewed states a position from this justice on taxes, housing, cost of living, insurance, utilities, schools, public safety or any other policy question, so this file records no policy position rather than inferring one.S10S36S42S27

Endorsements

  • The Los Angeles County Bar Association posted on October 2, 2026 that it strongly endorses retaining the incumbent justices on the ballot and names her among the Fourth District justices.S36
  • The Southern California Appellate News blog urges voters to retain the justices on the ballot, including the Fourth District justices, in a post dated September 25, 2026.S38
  • Presiding Justice Tari L. Cody's opinion article of October 7, 2026 in the Santa Barbara Independent asks voters to retain all sitting appellate court justices on their ballot, which includes the Division Three questions.S37
  • Reform California's voter guide for Orange County lists her with a do-not-retain entry. The guide prints no reason for that entry in the section retrieved.S39
  • The California Judicial Voter Guide gives her two stars on its five-star scale and a no position on retention. The guide states that the ratings come from a source guide and that it identifies candidates aligned with conservative, Republican, Christian and libertarian values.S40S41
  • Ballotpedia states that it is gathering endorsements and voter guide recommendations for the 2026 retention election and identifies none for her, in this election and in the 2024 Superior Court election recorded on her page.S30

Funding

No campaign finance filing found.

S10S27S36S1

No campaign committee, filing, donor list or dollar total for this contest was found for Juliet O. Macaulay. The Judicial Branch's retention page says supreme and appellate court justices generally do not actively campaign for retention, and LACBA's retention post says the same. Ballotpedia's page for the 2026 intermediate appellate court retention elections and its candidate page for Juliet O. Macaulay carry no 2026 campaign finance information for the seat, and the candidate page states that campaign finance information for the candidate is not yet available from OpenSecrets. No funded campaign on either side of these questions was found in any source reviewed. The Secretary of State's Cal-Access committee pages returned only their index page to the fetch tools used for this run and could not be searched by committee name, so this file cannot state whether any committee has been formed for any of these six questions. The total raised and cash on hand fields are null for that reason rather than estimated.

What this could mean for your household

  • Households in Orange County family law cases: her profile records that from January 2024 until her elevation she oversaw a family law calendar handling dissolutions, legal separation, child custody and visitation, domestic violence, paternity and property issues at the Lamoreaux Justice Center and the Central Justice Center. That is a record of assignment, not a stated position on family law or support policy.S17
  • Households that use public social service programs: her profile records that from 2020 to 2022 she led the State Hearing Division of the California Department of Social Services as Deputy Director and Chief Administrative Law Judge, setting statewide hearing policies and adjudicating cases for applicants and recipients of California's public social service programs, after serving there as a presiding judge and an administrative law judge from 2012. That is a record of prior employment, not a stated position on benefit levels or eligibility rules.S17S19
  • Households weighing what a retention vote does: the Judicial Branch's page says a justice who receives a majority of yes votes remains for another term, and Ballot Explained states that a majority of no votes creates a vacancy that the Governor fills. The California Courts newsroom release states that her term begins January 4, 2027 if voter confirmation is successful. Neither source identifies a stated position from this justice on taxes, fees, housing, insurance or utility costs.S10S42S19

Campaign website

Martha K. Gooding

Associate Justice Incumbent

Bio

  • The Secretary of State's certified list prints the question for her seat as: Shall Associate Justice MARTHA K. GOODING be elected to the office for the term provided by law? It prints no party preference, and the Judicial Branch's selection page says the office of appellate justice is nonpartisan. The Secretary of State's voter guide page lists her as Martha K. Gooding, Associate Justice, with a link to the Judicial Branch's biographical page.S1S2S3S9
  • Her Judicial Branch profile says she was nominated to the Fourth District Court of Appeal, Division Three, by Governor Gavin Newsom on May 19, 2023, was rated exceptionally well qualified for the position by the Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation of the State Bar of California, and was confirmed by unanimous vote of the Commission on Judicial Appointments on September 26, 2023. The California Courts newsroom release of September 26, 2023 records the unanimous confirmation vote and says she filled the vacancy created by the retirement of the late Justice Richard D. Fybel. Ballotpedia records that she assumed office on September 26, 2023.S15S20S31
  • Her profile says that before her appointment to the Court of Appeal she served on the Orange County Superior Court, appointed by Governor Jerry Brown in December 2013, that she sat initially on the court's limited criminal panel at the Stephen K. Tamura West Justice Center and moved to the Central Justice Center and the court's civil panel in January 2016, that she served on the court's Executive, Finance and Grand Jury Selection committees and its Judicial Mentor Committee, and that she also served on the Superior Court's Appellate Panel. The California Courts newsroom release and Ballotpedia both record her Orange County Superior Court service from 2013.S15S20S31
  • Her profile says she earned a Juris Doctor from Berkeley Law in 1981, graduating first in her class and Order of the Coif, and a Bachelor of Arts from California State University, Long Beach, graduating Phi Beta Kappa. It says that after law school she was a law clerk to Hon. Aubrey E. Robinson, Jr. in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, that she began her legal career at Howard, Rice, Nemerovski, Canady, Falk and Rabkin in San Francisco where she became a partner in 1989, that she moved to Orange County in 1992 to help start that firm's Southern California office, that she became a partner in Howrey LLP in 2000 and later joined Jones Day in 2010 as a partner in its Irvine office. The California Courts newsroom release and Ballotpedia record the same firm sequence and dates.S15S20S31
  • Her profile says that during 30 years in private practice she held leadership roles in legal organizations, including more than 17 years in the American Bar Association Section of Litigation where she served in the ABA House of Delegates and on the Litigation Section Council, that she was President of the Orange County Federal Bar Association, President of the Orange County Association of Business Trial Lawyers and a member of the Board of Directors of the California Bar Foundation, that she was selected as a lawyer representative to the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference and as a member of the Central District's Magistrate Judges Merit Selection Panel, that she served on the Central District's Pro Bono Panel, that she was a founding member of the Howard T. Markey Intellectual Property Inn of Court and that she served on the Board of Directors of The Friendship Shelter, a homeless shelter in Laguna Beach. It says she currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Orange County Bar Association Masters Division.S15
  • Her profile records that in 2009 she received the Orange County Anti-Defamation League's Marcus Kaufman Jurisprudence Award, that she mentored students at Newport Harbor High School for more than a decade, at UC Irvine School of Law and through the Orange County Superior Court Judicial Externship Program, and that she volunteered as a judge in the UC Irvine law school moot court competition and the Constitutional Rights Foundation mock trial competition. It says that while in private practice she published frequently on legal topics and was co-recipient of the Patent and Trademark Office Society's 2009-2010 annual Rossman Award. Those are the statements of the Judicial Branch's published profile.S15
  • Ballotpedia records that she assumed office on September 26, 2023, that her current term ends on January 4, 2027, that she served as an Orange County Superior Court judge from 2013 to 2023, and that she has not completed Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey. Ballotpedia identifies no endorsements for her in the 2026 retention election, and its campaign finance summary states that campaign finance information for her is not yet available from OpenSecrets.S31
  • No campaign website was found for her. The Secretary of State's voter guide lists her with the Judicial Branch's biographical page as the further information link.S3S6

Record in office

  • This is the first retention question for her seat. Ballotpedia's page for her records only the 2026 Division Three retention election at the Court of Appeal, with no earlier retention question on this seat, and her assumption of office on September 26, 2023.S31
  • She has served in Division Three since September 26, 2023, according to the Judicial Branch's roster and profile. The California Courts newsroom release says she filled the vacancy created by the retirement of the late Justice Richard D. Fybel.S6S15S20
  • She served on the Orange County Superior Court from December 2013, on its limited criminal panel and then its civil panel, and also served on that court's Executive, Finance and Grand Jury Selection committees, its Judicial Mentor Committee and its Appellate Panel, according to her profile. The newsroom release and Ballotpedia record the same county service dates.S15S20S31
  • The Commission on Judicial Performance's list of decisions on public judicial disciplinary cases by judge's name, retrieved for this run, contains no entry for her. LACBA's retention post states that the justices up for retention in this election all have a demonstrated record of fitness and competence and that none have had disciplinary issues with the commission, and the opinion article by Presiding Justice Tari Cody states that none of the appellate justices on the ballot have been disciplined by the commission. The San Francisco Chronicle editorial notes that the absence of a disciplinary record does not mean no complaint was ever filed, only that no public charge or punishment resulted.S45S36S37S44

Positions

Other
  • No policy positions from this candidate were found. her own profile describes her career and community work rather than positions: the profile records her judicial service, 30 years of private practice, bar leadership, awards and mentoring, and the other sources reviewed record her confirmation and the assessment material described in the contest context. The Judicial Branch's retention page states that supreme and appellate court justices generally do not actively campaign for retention and that the only promise they can make voters is to decide appeals impartially and according to the law, without fear or favor toward any individual or group, and LACBA's retention post makes the same point. Ballot Explained states that justices are barred from campaigning for themselves and that there is very little published material on any of these questions. Ballotpedia records that this candidate has not completed its 2026 Candidate Connection survey, and the guide pages retrieved for this run carry ratings, not stated positions. None of the sources reviewed states a position from this justice on taxes, housing, cost of living, insurance, utilities, schools, public safety or any other policy question, so this file records no policy position rather than inferring one.S10S36S42S27

Endorsements

  • The Los Angeles County Bar Association posted on October 2, 2026 that it strongly endorses retaining the incumbent justices on the ballot and names her among the Fourth District justices.S36
  • The Southern California Appellate News blog urges voters to retain the justices on the ballot, including the Fourth District justices, in a post dated September 25, 2026.S38
  • Presiding Justice Tari L. Cody's opinion article of October 7, 2026 in the Santa Barbara Independent asks voters to retain all sitting appellate court justices on their ballot, which includes the Division Three questions.S37
  • Reform California's voter guide for Orange County lists her with a do-not-retain entry. The guide prints no reason for that entry in the section retrieved.S39
  • The California Judicial Voter Guide gives her three stars on its five-star scale and a yes position on retention. The guide states that the ratings come from a source guide and that it identifies candidates aligned with conservative, Republican, Christian and libertarian values.S40S41
  • Ballotpedia states that it is gathering endorsements and voter guide recommendations for the 2026 retention election and identifies none for her.S31

Funding

No campaign finance filing found.

S10S27S36S1

No campaign committee, filing, donor list or dollar total for this contest was found for Martha K. Gooding. The Judicial Branch's retention page says supreme and appellate court justices generally do not actively campaign for retention, and LACBA's retention post says the same. Ballotpedia's page for the 2026 intermediate appellate court retention elections and its candidate page for Martha K. Gooding carry no 2026 campaign finance information for the seat, and the candidate page states that campaign finance information for the candidate is not yet available from OpenSecrets. No funded campaign on either side of these questions was found in any source reviewed. The Secretary of State's Cal-Access committee pages returned only their index page to the fetch tools used for this run and could not be searched by committee name, so this file cannot state whether any committee has been formed for any of these six questions. The total raised and cash on hand fields are null for that reason rather than estimated.

What this could mean for your household

  • Households in Orange County civil, probate and real estate cases that reach appeal: her profile records 30 years in private practice and service on the Orange County Superior Court civil panel from January 2016, and the Judicial Branch's page says civil appeals include cases involving personal injury, contract, employment, real estate, probate, dissolution of marriage and child custody. Those are records of assignment, not stated positions on policy.S15S8
  • Households affected by homelessness services in Orange County: her profile records service on the Board of Directors of The Friendship Shelter, which it describes as a homeless shelter in Laguna Beach. That is a community board role, not a stated position on state or county homelessness policy or funding.S15
  • Households weighing what a retention vote does: the Judicial Branch's page says a justice who receives a majority of yes votes remains for another term, and Ballot Explained states that a majority of no votes creates a vacancy that the Governor fills. Neither source identifies a stated position from this justice on taxes, fees, housing, insurance or utility costs.S10S42

Campaign website

Thomas A. Delaney

Associate Justice Incumbent

Bio

  • The Secretary of State's certified list prints the question for his seat as: Shall Associate Justice THOMAS A. DELANEY be elected to the office for the term provided by law? It prints no party preference, and the Judicial Branch's selection page says the office of appellate justice is nonpartisan. The Secretary of State's voter guide page lists him as Thomas A. Delaney, Associate Justice, with a link to the Judicial Branch's biographical page.S1S2S3S9
  • His Judicial Branch profile says he was nominated to the California Court of Appeal, Fourth Appellate District, Division Three, by Governor Gavin Newsom on August 8, 2022, and was confirmed by unanimous vote of the Commission on Judicial Appointments on October 11, 2022. The California Courts newsroom release of October 11, 2022 records the unanimous confirmation and says he filled the vacancy created by the retirement of Justice David Thompson. Ballotpedia records that he assumed office on October 11, 2022.S14S21S32
  • His profile says that before his confirmation he served as a judge of the Orange County Superior Court from 2014, that at the time of his nomination he was Supervising Judge of the Collaborative Courts where he presided over the Veterans Courts among others, and that he previously served on the unlimited civil panel at the Central Justice Center and the limited criminal panel at the Harbor Justice Center. The California Courts newsroom release and Ballotpedia record the same Orange County Superior Court service dates.S14S21S32
  • His profile says he is President of the California Latino Judges Association, where he previously served on the Executive Board as Secretary and as a member at large, that between 2020 and 2021 he served as the 89th President of the California Judges Association, which it says represents more than 2,200 active and retired judicial officers and appellate court justices from all 58 California counties, and that during the same period he was an advisory member of the Judicial Council of California. It says he serves on Governor Newsom's Judicial Selection Advisory Committee for Orange County, on the Board of Directors of the Masters Division of the Orange County Bar Association and on the Judicial Advisory Board of the Constitutional Rights Foundation of Orange County, and that he is a past president of the William P. Gray Legion Lex Inn of Court.S14
  • His profile says that before his appointment to the Superior Court he was a trial lawyer at Sedgwick LLP focusing on the defense of mass tort, product liability and specialty tort actions involving catastrophic physical injuries and psychological disorders, as well as employment and commercial cases, that he served as vice-chair of the firm's complex litigation division and as a professor at its trial academy, that he was founding chair of the firm's Hispanic Lawyers Forum, that he worked pro bono in partnership with Kids in Need of Defense and UC Irvine law students representing youth in immigration and removal proceedings without their parents or other adult supervision, and that he started a student externship program for high school students at Girls Incorporated of Orange County. It says he earned his Juris Doctor from Loyola Law School and his undergraduate degree from Loyola Marymount University and studied at St. John's College, Oxford University. It records awards including the 2021 Orange County Probation Chief's Award, the 2020 Orange County Hispanic Bar Association Judge James O. Perez Trailblazer Award, the 2019 American Board of Trial Advocates Orange County chapter George Francis Civility Award, the 2018-2019 Constitutional Rights Foundation of Orange County Mock Trial Judge of the Year award and the 2016 Loyola Law School Orange County Distinguished Alumni Award. Those are the statements of the Judicial Branch's published profile.S14
  • Ballotpedia records that he assumed office on October 11, 2022, that his current term ends on January 4, 2027, that he served as an Orange County Superior Court judge from 2014 to 2022 and was a partner at Sedgwick LLP from 2002 to 2014, and that he has not completed Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey. Ballotpedia identifies no endorsements for him in the 2026 retention election.S32
  • No campaign website was found for him. The Secretary of State's voter guide lists him with the Judicial Branch's biographical page as the further information link. The Los Angeles County Bar Association's October 2, 2026 post prints his first name as Tomas in its list of Fourth District justices.S3S6S36

Record in office

  • This is the first retention question for his seat recorded in the sources reviewed. Ballotpedia's page for him shows the 2026 Division Three retention election as the Court of Appeal election entry and records his assumption of office on October 11, 2022; its earlier election entry for him is the Orange County Superior Court nonpartisan primary in 2022, which was canceled and which he won without appearing on the ballot.S32
  • He has served in Division Three since October 11, 2022, according to the Judicial Branch's roster and profile. The California Courts newsroom release says he filled the vacancy created by the retirement of Justice David Thompson.S6S14S21
  • On the Orange County Superior Court he sat on the unlimited civil panel at the Central Justice Center and the limited criminal panel at the Harbor Justice Center, and at the time of his nomination he was Supervising Judge of the Collaborative Courts, where he presided over the Veterans Courts among others, according to his profile.S14
  • The Commission on Judicial Performance's list of decisions on public judicial disciplinary cases by judge's name, retrieved for this run, contains no entry for him. LACBA's retention post states that the justices up for retention in this election all have a demonstrated record of fitness and competence and that none have had disciplinary issues with the commission, and the opinion article by Presiding Justice Tari Cody states that none of the appellate justices on the ballot have been disciplined by the commission. The San Francisco Chronicle editorial notes that the absence of a disciplinary record does not mean no complaint was ever filed, only that no public charge or punishment resulted.S45S36S37S44

Positions

Other
  • No policy positions from this candidate were found. his own profile describes his judicial and bar service rather than positions: the profile records his judicial assignments, bar leadership, pro bono work, education and awards, and the other sources reviewed record his confirmation and the assessment material described in the contest context. The Judicial Branch's retention page states that supreme and appellate court justices generally do not actively campaign for retention and that the only promise they can make voters is to decide appeals impartially and according to the law, without fear or favor toward any individual or group, and LACBA's retention post makes the same point. Ballot Explained states that justices are barred from campaigning for themselves and that there is very little published material on any of these questions. Ballotpedia records that this candidate has not completed its 2026 Candidate Connection survey, and the guide pages retrieved for this run carry ratings, not stated positions. None of the sources reviewed states a position from this justice on taxes, housing, cost of living, insurance, utilities, schools, public safety or any other policy question, so this file records no policy position rather than inferring one.S10S36S42S27

Endorsements

  • The Los Angeles County Bar Association posted on October 2, 2026 that it strongly endorses retaining the incumbent justices on the ballot and names him among the Fourth District justices.S36
  • The Southern California Appellate News blog urges voters to retain the justices on the ballot, including the Fourth District justices, in a post dated September 25, 2026.S38
  • Presiding Justice Tari L. Cody's opinion article of October 7, 2026 in the Santa Barbara Independent asks voters to retain all sitting appellate court justices on their ballot, which includes the Division Three questions.S37
  • Reform California's voter guide for Orange County lists him with a do-not-retain entry. The guide prints no reason for that entry in the section retrieved.S39
  • The California Judicial Voter Guide gives him three stars on its five-star scale and a yes position on retention. The guide states that the ratings come from a source guide and that it identifies candidates aligned with conservative, Republican, Christian and libertarian values.S40S41
  • Ballotpedia states that it is gathering endorsements and voter guide recommendations for the 2026 retention election and identifies none for him.S32

Funding

No campaign finance filing found.

S10S27S36S1

No campaign committee, filing, donor list or dollar total for this contest was found for Thomas A. Delaney. The Judicial Branch's retention page says supreme and appellate court justices generally do not actively campaign for retention, and LACBA's retention post says the same. Ballotpedia's page for the 2026 intermediate appellate court retention elections and its candidate page for Thomas A. Delaney carry no 2026 campaign finance information for the seat, and the candidate page states that campaign finance information for the candidate is not yet available from OpenSecrets. No funded campaign on either side of these questions was found in any source reviewed. The Secretary of State's Cal-Access committee pages returned only their index page to the fetch tools used for this run and could not be searched by committee name, so this file cannot state whether any committee has been formed for any of these six questions. The total raised and cash on hand fields are null for that reason rather than estimated.

What this could mean for your household

  • Households in Orange County civil cases that reach appeal: his profile records service on the Orange County Superior Court unlimited civil panel at the Central Justice Center, and the Judicial Branch's page says civil appeals include cases involving personal injury, contract, employment, real estate, probate, dissolution of marriage and child custody. That is a record of assignment, not a stated position on policy.S14S8
  • Households with a family member in a collaborative court: his profile records that at the time of his nomination he was Supervising Judge of the Collaborative Courts of the Orange County Superior Court, where he presided over the Veterans Courts among others. That is a record of assignment, not a stated position on treatment court funding or eligibility.S14
  • Households weighing what a retention vote does: the Judicial Branch's page says a justice who receives a majority of yes votes remains for another term, and Ballot Explained states that a majority of no votes creates a vacancy that the Governor fills. Neither source identifies a stated position from this justice on taxes, fees, housing, insurance or utility costs.S10S42

Campaign website

Deborah C. Servino

Associate Justice Incumbent

Bio

  • The Secretary of State's certified list prints the question for her seat as: Shall Associate Justice DEBORAH C. SERVINO be elected to the office for the term provided by law? It prints no party preference, and the Judicial Branch's selection page says the office of appellate justice is nonpartisan. The Secretary of State's voter guide page lists her as Deborah C. Servino, Associate Justice, with a link to the Judicial Branch's biographical page.S1S2S3S9
  • Her Judicial Branch profile says she was nominated to the Fourth District Court of Appeal, Division Three, by Governor Gavin Newsom on April 16, 2026, and confirmed by the Commission on Judicial Appointments on May 22, 2026, and that she was rated exceptionally well qualified for the position by the Commission on Judicial Nominees Evaluation of the State Bar of California. The California Courts newsroom release of May 22, 2026 records her unanimous confirmation and says she filled the vacancy created by the retirement of Justice Thomas M. Goethals. Ballotpedia records that she assumed office on May 22, 2026.S16S18S33
  • Her profile says she previously served on the Orange County Superior Court from 2009 to 2026, appointed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, that on her 2009 appointment she became the second Asian Pacific American woman to serve as a judge on that court, that she presided over a wide range of assignments including more than a decade on the unlimited civil panel from 2015 to 2026, where she conducted over 180 trials, and that she was presiding judge of the Appellate Division of the Orange County Superior Court from July 2014 to June 2015. The California Courts newsroom release and Ballotpedia record the same county service dates.S16S18S33
  • Her profile says she was a member of the Judicial Council of California Advisory Committee on Civil Jury Instructions, which develops and maintains the standard jury instructions used in California trial courts, and that she served 16 years on the Orange County Superior Court's Judicial Extern Committee, chairing it from 2017 to 2023, where she mentored aspiring lawyers. It records recognition from the Warren J. Ferguson American Inn of Court, the American Board of Trial Advocates Orange County chapter, the Orange County Asian American Bar Association, the Orange County Women Lawyers Association and the Filipino-American Lawyers of Orange County.S16
  • Her profile says that before her appointment to the bench she was a Deputy Attorney General at the California Department of Justice, that she was lead counsel in more than 150 cases before the California Courts of Appeal, over 16 cases before the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, 3 cases before the California Supreme Court and 1 case before the United States Supreme Court, that she received the California Attorney General's Award for Sustained Superior Accomplishment in 2007, that she taught appellate advocacy at Loyola Law School in 2001 and 2003, that she was a member of the State Bar Standing Committee on Appellate Courts from 2005 to 2009 and served as its vice chair from 2007 to 2008 and chair from 2008 to 2009, that she was a law clerk for Judge Melvin Brunetti of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and that she then worked as an associate at Rutan and Tucker LLP. It says she grew up in Orange County, earned a Bachelor of Arts from Duke University graduating with honors, and received a Juris Doctor from the University of California, Berkeley School of Law. Ballotpedia records her degrees as a 1993 Bachelor of Arts from Duke and a 1995 Juris Doctor from Berkeley, and lists a 1995 to 1996 law clerk role followed by private practice and her deputy attorney general service from 1997 to 2009.S16S33
  • Ballotpedia records that she assumed office on May 22, 2026, that her current term ends on January 4, 2027, that she has not completed Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey, and that Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements or voter guide recommendations for her in her 2024 Orange County Superior Court election, which was a nonpartisan primary that was canceled and which she won without appearing on the ballot.S33
  • No campaign website was found for her. The Secretary of State's voter guide lists her with the Judicial Branch's biographical page as the further information link.S3S6

Record in office

  • This is the first retention question for her seat. Ballotpedia's page for her records the 2026 Division Three retention election as her Court of Appeal election entry and shows her earlier elections as canceled Orange County Superior Court primaries in 2024 and 2018, which she won without appearing on the ballot. The California Courts newsroom release of May 22, 2026 records her confirmation without a note about voter confirmation for the November 3 election, and the newsroom release of August 20, 2026 does attach that note to three other new justices, including one in the same division.S33S18S19
  • She has served in Division Three since May 22, 2026, according to the Judicial Branch's roster and profile. The roster lists her and Justice Juliet O. Macaulay as the division's two justices appointed in 2026.S6S16S18
  • She sat on the Orange County Superior Court from 2009, including more than a decade on the unlimited civil panel from 2015 to 2026 where her profile says she conducted over 180 trials, and she was presiding judge of that court's Appellate Division from July 2014 to June 2015. Before the bench she was a Deputy Attorney General at the California Department of Justice and argued more than 150 cases before the California Courts of Appeal according to her profile.S16S18
  • The Commission on Judicial Performance's list of decisions on public judicial disciplinary cases by judge's name, retrieved for this run, contains no entry for her. LACBA's retention post states that the justices up for retention in this election all have a demonstrated record of fitness and competence and that none have had disciplinary issues with the commission, and the opinion article by Presiding Justice Tari Cody states that none of the appellate justices on the ballot have been disciplined by the commission. The San Francisco Chronicle editorial notes that the absence of a disciplinary record does not mean no complaint was ever filed, only that no public charge or punishment resulted.S45S36S37S44

Positions

Other
  • No policy positions from this candidate were found. her own profile describes her judicial and appellate practice rather than positions: the profile records her judicial service, her work as a deputy attorney general and appellate bar service, and the other sources reviewed record her confirmation and the assessment material described in the contest context. The Judicial Branch's retention page states that supreme and appellate court justices generally do not actively campaign for retention and that the only promise they can make voters is to decide appeals impartially and according to the law, without fear or favor toward any individual or group, and LACBA's retention post makes the same point. Ballot Explained states that justices are barred from campaigning for themselves and that there is very little published material on any of these questions. Ballotpedia records that this candidate has not completed its 2026 Candidate Connection survey, and the guide pages retrieved for this run carry ratings, not stated positions. None of the sources reviewed states a position from this justice on taxes, housing, cost of living, insurance, utilities, schools, public safety or any other policy question, so this file records no policy position rather than inferring one.S10S36S42S27

Endorsements

  • The Los Angeles County Bar Association posted on October 2, 2026 that it strongly endorses retaining the incumbent justices on the ballot and names her among the Fourth District justices.S36
  • The Southern California Appellate News blog urges voters to retain the justices on the ballot, including the Fourth District justices, in a post dated September 25, 2026.S38
  • Presiding Justice Tari L. Cody's opinion article of October 7, 2026 in the Santa Barbara Independent asks voters to retain all sitting appellate court justices on their ballot, which includes the Division Three questions.S37
  • Reform California's voter guide for Orange County lists her with a do-not-retain entry. The guide prints no reason for that entry in the section retrieved.S39
  • The California Judicial Voter Guide gives her three stars on its five-star scale and a yes position on retention. The guide states that the ratings come from a source guide and that it identifies candidates aligned with conservative, Republican, Christian and libertarian values.S40S41
  • Ballotpedia states that it is gathering endorsements and voter guide recommendations for the 2026 retention election and identifies none for her.S33

Funding

No campaign finance filing found.

S10S27S36S1

No campaign committee, filing, donor list or dollar total for this contest was found for Deborah C. Servino. The Judicial Branch's retention page says supreme and appellate court justices generally do not actively campaign for retention, and LACBA's retention post says the same. Ballotpedia's page for the 2026 intermediate appellate court retention elections and its candidate page for Deborah C. Servino carry no 2026 campaign finance information for the seat, and the candidate page states that campaign finance information for the candidate is not yet available from OpenSecrets. No funded campaign on either side of these questions was found in any source reviewed. The Secretary of State's Cal-Access committee pages returned only their index page to the fetch tools used for this run and could not be searched by committee name, so this file cannot state whether any committee has been formed for any of these six questions. The total raised and cash on hand fields are null for that reason rather than estimated.

What this could mean for your household

  • Households in Orange County civil cases that reach appeal: her profile records more than a decade on the Orange County Superior Court unlimited civil panel from 2015 to 2026, where it says she conducted over 180 trials, and the Judicial Branch's page says civil appeals include cases involving personal injury, contract, employment, real estate, probate, dissolution of marriage and child custody. That is a record of assignment, not a stated position on policy.S16S8
  • Households with a civil case in the trial courts: her profile records that she was a member of the Judicial Council of California Advisory Committee on Civil Jury Instructions, which it describes as responsible for developing and maintaining the standard jury instructions used in California trial courts. That is a committee role, not a stated position on civil procedure or damages rules.S16
  • Households weighing what a retention vote does: the Judicial Branch's page says a justice who receives a majority of yes votes remains for another term, and Ballot Explained states that a majority of no votes creates a vacancy that the Governor fills. Neither source identifies a stated position from this justice on taxes, fees, housing, insurance or utility costs.S10S42

Campaign website

Sources

  1. Certified List of Candidates, November 3, 2026 General Election, including the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal headings and ballot questions (dated August 27, 2026) California Secretary of State Accessed 2026-10-17
  2. List of Judicial Candidates with Headings and Ballot Questions, November 3, 2026 General Election (dated August 24, 2026) California Secretary of State Accessed 2026-10-17
  3. Official Voter Information Guide, November 3, 2026 General Election, Courts of Appeal, Fourth District page listing the division justices and linking to judicial biographical information California Secretary of State Accessed 2026-10-17
  4. Contests Qualified for the Ballot for the 2026 General Election, including the Judicial entry for Associate Justice, Court of Appeal, 4th Appellate District, Division 1-3 Orange County Registrar of Voters Accessed 2026-10-17
  5. What's On the Ballot, November 3, 2026 General Election (PDF listing the Judicial contests on the county ballot) Orange County Registrar of Voters Accessed 2026-10-17
  6. Justices, Fourth Appellate District, current roster by division with service dates Judicial Branch of California, Courts of Appeal Accessed 2026-10-17
  7. About the 4th District, history of the district and of Division Three in Santa Ana Judicial Branch of California, Courts of Appeal Accessed 2026-10-17
  8. What Appellate Court Justices Do Judicial Branch of California, Courts of Appeal Accessed 2026-10-17
  9. How Appellate Court Justices are Selected Judicial Branch of California, Courts of Appeal Accessed 2026-10-17
  10. Appellate Retention Elections, what they are and how voters learn about the justices Judicial Branch of California, Courts of Appeal Accessed 2026-10-17
  11. What to Know About Judicial Selection, a primer on how appellate justices are nominated and become part of the voter process (October 5, 2026) California Courts Newsroom Accessed 2026-10-17
  12. Profile of Joanne Motoike, Presiding Justice, Division Three Judicial Branch of California, Courts of Appeal Accessed 2026-10-17
  13. Profile of Nathan R. Scott, Associate Justice, Division Three Judicial Branch of California, Courts of Appeal Accessed 2026-10-17
  14. Profile of Thomas A. Delaney, Associate Justice, Division Three Judicial Branch of California, Courts of Appeal Accessed 2026-10-17
  15. Profile of Martha K. Gooding, Associate Justice, Division Three Judicial Branch of California, Courts of Appeal Accessed 2026-10-17
  16. Profile of Deborah C. Servino, Associate Justice, Division Three Judicial Branch of California, Courts of Appeal Accessed 2026-10-17
  17. Profile of Juliet O. Macaulay, Associate Justice, Division Three Judicial Branch of California, Courts of Appeal Accessed 2026-10-17
  18. Commission Confirms Five Appointments to Courts of Appeal, including Justice Joanne Motoike as presiding justice and Judge Deborah C. Servino as associate justice of the Fourth Appellate District, Division Three (May 22, 2026) California Courts Newsroom Accessed 2026-10-17
  19. Commission Confirms Four Appointments to Courts of Appeal, including Judge Juliet Macaulay for the Fourth Appellate District, Division Three, with the note that confirmations are subject to voter confirmation at the November 3 election (August 20, 2026) California Courts Newsroom Accessed 2026-10-17
  20. Commission Confirms Appointment to Court of Appeal, confirming Judge Martha Gooding as associate justice of the Fourth District Court of Appeal, Division Three (September 26, 2023) California Courts Newsroom Accessed 2026-10-17
  21. Commission Confirms Appointment to Court of Appeal in Santa Ana, confirming Judge Thomas Delaney as associate justice of the Fourth District Court of Appeal, Division Three (October 11, 2022) California Courts Newsroom Accessed 2026-10-17
  22. Commission Confirms Appointments to Courts of Appeal, confirming Judge Nathan Scott as associate justice of the Fourth Appellate District, Division Three (February 14, 2025) California Courts Newsroom Accessed 2026-10-17
  23. Commission Confirms Three Appointments to Courts of Appeal, including Judge Maria Daghlian Hernandez as associate justice of the Fourth Appellate District, Division Three (October 9, 2026) California Courts Newsroom Accessed 2026-10-17
  24. Commission Confirms Three Appointments to the Court of Appeal, Fourth Appellate District, recording the August 20, 2026 confirmation of Judge Juliet Macaulay for Division Three Fourth Appellate District, Courts of Appeal Accessed 2026-10-17
  25. Justice Maurice Sanchez to retire from the California Court of Appeal, Fourth District, Division Three (September 16, 2026) Fourth Appellate District, Courts of Appeal Accessed 2026-10-17
  26. California Fourth District Court of Appeal, court profile with division locations, jurisdiction and selection process Ballotpedia Accessed 2026-10-17
  27. California intermediate appellate court elections, 2026, retention election page with the candidate list by district and division and the note that 62 seats are up on November 3, 2026 Ballotpedia Accessed 2026-10-17
  28. Joanne Motoike, candidate page with career history, the certified 2022 retention result, the 2026 retention entry and the note that she has not completed the 2026 Candidate Connection survey Ballotpedia Accessed 2026-10-17
  29. Nathan Scott, candidate page with career history, the assumption-of-office and term-end dates for 2025 and the 2026 retention entry Ballotpedia Accessed 2026-10-17
  30. Juliet O. Macaulay, candidate page with education, career history, the assumption-of-office and term-end dates for 2026 and the 2026 retention entry Ballotpedia Accessed 2026-10-17
  31. Martha K. Gooding, candidate page with career history, the assumption-of-office and term-end dates for 2023 and the 2026 retention entry Ballotpedia Accessed 2026-10-17
  32. Thomas A. Delaney, candidate page with career history, the assumption-of-office and term-end dates for 2022 and the 2026 retention entry Ballotpedia Accessed 2026-10-17
  33. Deborah C. Servino, candidate page with education, career history, the assumption-of-office and term-end dates for 2026 and the 2026 retention entry Ballotpedia Accessed 2026-10-17
  34. California court salaries and budgets, with the intermediate appellate court salary and the state judicial branch budget by fiscal year Ballotpedia Accessed 2026-10-17
  35. California Courts of Appeal for LA and OC: What you need to know, guide to the retention questions with the Fourth District justice list in certified list order (published October 1, 2026, updated October 14, 2026) LAist Accessed 2026-10-17
  36. California Supreme Court and Court of Appeal Justices Retention Election, including the association's position on retaining the incumbent justices and its list of the Fourth District justices (October 2, 2026) Los Angeles County Bar Association, LACBA News Accessed 2026-10-17
  37. About the Retention Election for California Appellate Justices, opinion article by Presiding Justice Tari Cody of the Second Appellate District, Division Six, describing the appointment and retention process (October 7, 2026) Santa Barbara Independent Accessed 2026-10-17
  38. Vote to confirm our Justices, post describing the 2026 appellate retention election and urging voters to retain the justices on the ballot (September 25, 2026) Southern California Appellate News Accessed 2026-10-17
  39. Voter Guide, Orange County, with a retain or do not retain entry for each Court of Appeal justice, 2026 General Election Reform California Accessed 2026-10-17
  40. California Judicial Races 2026, judicial voter guide with a star rating and a retention position for each justice, 2026 General Election California Judicial Voter Guide Accessed 2026-10-17
  41. California Voter Guide, November 3, 2026 General Election, Judicial Races (PDF with the star rating legend and the rating and retention column for each justice) California Voter Guide Accessed 2026-10-17
  42. California appellate court elections, 2026, guide page on the retention questions and the absence of performance evaluations and bar ratings Ballot Explained Accessed 2026-10-17
  43. Endorsement editorial on retaining Second District Justices Armen Tamzarian and Audra Mori over the Measure ULA ruling (October 7, 2026) Daily News, Southern California News Group Accessed 2026-10-17
  44. Yes or no? The Chronicle's endorsements for California Supreme Court and appeals courts, with the editorial board's recommendations for the justices it reviewed (October 10, 2026) San Francisco Chronicle Accessed 2026-10-17
  45. Decisions by Judge's Name, the commission's complete list of public decisions on judicial disciplinary cases since 1960 California Commission on Judicial Performance Accessed 2026-10-17